E376 



jlillj»jijitljjj«»^^^\^ 




S*.I<HltfiHHI^M*i 



HliifiSliil'si:.'.;,: !.M.-^:;;:-:!a| 



.!,:iM|ii!i!iir,;;;.!]3im!s 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




DODDSDVfibST ^ 



^•^/... V^\^^ "-^^^^/ V^^ 




^' <J^ o « o - 

aP •wlr-v '^^ 









•« it? <^ * «H 






./% l^^* /V ■^•A :^^ ^^^\ 



.0 «► • . 







■0 ^^ ^^ 






.^^% 



"?. ./^ ',>. -^ 










" O » o 








■*<.. :A_ 



"^ u ' 



^ ^^^ .^„ 






c^^.r 






s./y/yy'»'-. 



N^WUI . 



.^ a"" 






^^\' 



o ". r> C, - o 



^0^'b■ 




-v^^> 










* ^ A^' *mr/z;b^^ -r. 



- "^b v^' ' 




% ^^0^ : 



< o 





o^ *^T..' 



•> »J* t'v 



'bV" 













o 








o-o, ^O 



:. '-^^0^ o 










iPvS 







^O. 







v-^;^ 






'O^^i- 



,^\^ 




















THE 



/ 



ADMINISTRATION, 



AND THE 



4!ilPI^#^$s^#:^« 



V 






X. ADDRESSED TO THE CITIZENS OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.. 



3Ufi illixevtton .^itrnrg* 









CONCORD : 




PRINTED BY JACOB B. 


3I00KE 


1826. 








r^ U 



To the Citizens of J^etD-Hampshire. 



Fellow Citizens, 

^ More than a year has elapsed since the present administration 

^ were inducted into office ; a session of Congress has been held j 

r^ and a party has been formed evincing a determination to make 

r>. a systematic opposition to the government. A period has there- 

"** fore arrived, when it is proper, nay, our duly as freemen, to go 

^ into an examination of the course which has thus far been pur- 

^ sued by the administration, and also of the motives and conduct 

of the party in opposition. Such an examination may enable 

us to determine whether we are bound to support and give 

strength to the former, or to enlist under the banners of the 

latter. 

But it may not be improper, in the first place, to make a few 
remarks in relation to the late presidential election, and the for- 
mation of the cabinet. Correct opinions on these subjects are 
important, and may assist us in forming correct opinions on 
• others. 

At an early period, many candidates for the highest office in 
this republic were brought forward. Honorable as it was to 
our country, that it contained so many distinguished citizens and 
statesmen, it was yet unfavorable to the repose of society, that 
their qualifications and merits were, at the same time, urged with 
so much zeal, by their respective supporters. Of those who had 
been proposed for consideration, public sentiment, in the pro-^ 
gress of the discussions, designated four as the ablest and most 
deserving: Mr. Crawford, whose agreeable manners and respec- 
table talents had raised him to high and important stations ; 
Gen. .lackson, whose brilliant achievements in the last war, had 
encircled his name, and that of his grateful country, with unfad- 
ing glory ; Mr. Clay, justly admired for his persuasive eloquence, 
and distinguished, before all others, for his warm devotion to re- 
publican principles ; and Mr. Adams, employed from his youth 
in the service of his country, surpassed by no one in talent, and 
by no one in attachment to the country, he had so long and so 
faithfully served. Of these, the two first were supported by the 
southern section of the Union, which enjoys the distinguished 
honor, an honor of which it is justly proud, of having given to 
the republic a chief magistrate in eight out of nine quadrennial 
^lections; in other words, for thirty-two of the thirty-six year.'- 



thnt have elapsed since the formation of the Constitution. Gen.. 
Jackson received also some support in the western, and more in 
the middle States. Mr. Clay was the favorite candidate of the 
■west; and B'lr. Adams received the undivided vote of New- 
England. 

It is evident, therefore, that in the late election, local had much 
more influence than party considerations. And this was natu- 
ral. Political excitement having subsided, free operation was 
given to the strongest of all the noble passions which can actu- 
ate man, love of (he place of his birth. This passion is inherent 
in the hearts of us all. The town in which we were born has, 
and deserves, the first place in our affections. The honor of. 
cur own State is most dear to us, and justly; next, that 
section in which our State is placed; and he whose attachment 
to these is ardent and devoted, will not feel the less attachment 
to his w^hole country. Nay, the laticr springs from the former 
as its source, and eould not exist without it. 

Of these candidates, no one had a majoniy of the electoral 
votes, and the election devolved upon the House of Representa- 
tives, by whom Mr. Adams was elected. The friends of Mr. 
Crawford have asserted, that the Representatives were bound to 
choose him, because he was the candidate nominated by a Con- 
gressional caucus. The friends of Gen. Jackson have asserted, 
that they were bound to choose him, because, having recei\'ed the 
highest number of electoral votes, he was of course the favorite 
of the people. Bound to choose, is a contradiction in terms. It 
is an absurdit3% which no sensible freeman would utter, and no 
spirited freeman could understand. No, the House is, by the 
Constitution, left free to choose, limited only as to the number 
of candidates. 

The reason assigned why Mr. Crawford should have been 
elected will not be allowed to have much weight, when it is rc- 
col'ectcd of iiow small a number that caucus was composed. 
The reason assigned in favor of Gen- Jackson v/ould be entitled 
to consideration, were it founded in truth. But, from the fact 
that Gen. Jackson had a greater number of electoral votes than 
any other candidate, it does not follow, that he was the favorite 
of the people. By no mode of calculation whatever could he be 
considered the favorite of a majoriii/ of the people. Admitting 
the electoral votes to furnish a correct criterion of their senti- 
ments, he was a favorite of less than two fifths — only 99 being 
in his favor, while 162 w'ere against him. Had he been elected 
by the House, the appellation of " minority President" could 
have been as justly applied to him, as it has been to Mr. Adams. 

But it is denied that the electoral votes are a correct criterion 
of the sentiments of the people. That excry vote must count 



5 



one is admlltetl, for so Oie constitution ordainS : l)Ut that every 
vote represents an equal number of citizens is by no means true. 
That every vote, when the Representatives vote by Slates, must 
count one, whether that vote be given by Delaware or New- 
York, is also admitted; but neither is it true, in this case, that 
each vole represents an equal number of citizens. Both are 
constitutional modes of electing a President ; but neither is a 
correct mode of ascertaining public sentiment. 

No means exist for ascerlainins; with exactness the sentiments 
of the people, in regard to the Presidential candidates, at the 
late election. The vote by States, as I have already said, is not 
a correct criterion, for some States contain many more citizens 
lh;in others. The vote by electors is a much better criterion, 
but not a correct one, for these reasons : three fifths of the 
slaves, who do not vote, arc added to the number of citizens to 
determine the number of electors, to which the State is entitled ; 
the State containing the smallest number of citizens has two 
electors in addition to the number of its Representatives, while 
the State containing the greatest number is entitled to no more ; 
and in some States electors were chosen almost unanimously, 
while in others there were large minorities for the electoral tick- 
ets, that did not prevail. By c dlecting all the votes given by 
the friends of the respective candidates throughout the Union, it 
has been ascertained that, had the electoral votes been given 
according to the voles of the people, and of their Representative'^ 
in the State Legislatures, omitting fractions, 

Mr. Adams would have received 93, 
General Jackson 86, 

Mr. Crawford 47, 

Mr. Clay 28. 

IVIr. Adams was, therefore, in preference to any other candi- 
date, the choice of the people of this republic. He received 
the votes of a majority of the States, and of a greater number 
of Representatives than any other candidate. He was elected 
President according to all the forms prescribed by the constitu- 
tion. He was therefore entitled, in advance, to the confidence 
and supj)ort of his fellow citizens ; and that confidence and sup- 
port should continue to be generously afforded until, by his con- 
duct, he has shewn himself unworthy. 

The first duty which devolved on him, was the nomination of 
persons to compose his cabinet. For the office of Secretary of 
State, he selected Mr. Clay. This gentleman resided in a part 
of the Union, whence a Secretary of State had never been se- 
lected. He had long held a conspicuous station among his fel- 
low citizens. Devoted to republican principles — the favorite ot 
the republican party — he had six times been elected Speaker o! 



6 

the national House of Representatives; he haJ been deputed by 
Mr. Madison to ncgociatc a treatj^ oi peace with Great Britain; 
and so highly were his talents and patriotism appreciated by 
those who knew him best, that they deemed him worthy the 
highest office in the nation. In the eyes even of the opposition, 
he had but one disqualification — he voted for Mr. Adams. They 
may insinuate or assert — what cannot be asserted ? — that this 
vote was not conscientiously given ; but not a particle of proof 
has been or can be adduced to prove such an assertion. For 
whom else could he consistently have voted ? Not for Mr. Craw- 
ford, for he had early, openly and decidedly opposed a nomina- 
tion by a congressional caucus ; that gentleman's ill health 
rendered it extremely improper to entrust the welfare of ihe na- 
tion in his hands; and his friends were so few as to render any 
aid he could afford them unavailing. Not for Gen. Jackson, for 
he had long been pevsonallj'^ and politically opposed to him; he 
had, as a member of the House of Ixcpresentatives, charged 
him, in a formal manner, with violating the constitution, the ark 
of our political safety ; and he saw in the elevation of such a 
man to the office of chief magistrate, whose duty it is to admin- 
ister the laws and support the constitution, an omen portentous 
of evil to the countr}'", and of destruction to the liberties of the 
people. He could not have voted for either without sacrificing 
his consistency of character, the brightest jewel a statesman can 
wear. He therefore voted for Mr. Adams. And for this, was 
Mr. Adams permitted or bound to deprive the country of his 
services in the station v/hich every consideration called him to 
fill ? Must the President, in craven dread of misconstruction 
and calumny, have forborne to appoint a man to an important 
office, merely because that man had given him his vole ? Little 
minds would have done so; and little minds would have applaud- 
ed such a course, and called it proof of political integritj^ But 
Mr. Adams could not do so without acting contrary to his own na- 
ture. He is too fearless to shrink from doing what is right, from 
a dread of blame. He holds no communion with little minds, and 
neither their censure nor their applause is the subject of his con- 
templation. 

For the other members of his cabinet, he selected men of tal- 
ents and experience; men who had long been known to the na- 
tion, republicans in principle, and possessing the confidence of 
the republican party. He was not pledged, as Gen. Jackson 
was virtually, to introduce a federalist into his cabinet, and he 
did not. In this he acted properly and wisely; for however 
true it may be that the federalists, as a party, are powerless, or 
extinct— that many are honest and able men — 3'et the prejudice 
against them is still so strong, in some parts of the Union, that 



an administration not wholly republican, would not be cheerfully 
and cordially supported by a majority of the people. Neither 
he, nor his friends, gave any intimation, as did the friends of 
Mr. Crawford, whether with, or without his direction, is not 
known, that, if elected, he wouid form a '' broad bottomed ad- 
ministration," with which all parties should be satisfied. He 
held out no lures; he enticed no man from his party; he made 
no promises, and of couise was not placed in the dilemma of 
weakening the government by observing, or of fixing a stigma 
on his character by disregarding his word. Acting in the spirit 
of the remark made by \'t, Monroe, in his published corres- 
pondence with Gen. Jackson, he determined that his administra- 
tion should rest for support upon the great republican party. 

Against a President so chosen, and against an administration 
so formed, it was certainly to be expected, that no strenuous op- 
position would be made, until something had transpired, to shew 
that they were unworthy of confidence ; or, to use the words of 
Mr. Crawford, that " they would be judged by their measures." 
Ebullitions of passion from the disappointed would have been 
natural; and, as human nature is constituted, even pardonable; 
but these, it was supposed, would subside, when time had been 
afforded for reflection. A sufficient time has elapsed, yet in- 
temperate passion still bears sway, and an opposition has been 
organized actuated by a bitterness of feeling, and a reckless- 
ness of all considerations but success, which has had no parral- 
lel since the first years of Mr. Jefferson's administration. 

Of whom is this opposition composed? — It is composed of the 
friends of Mr. Calhoun, whose youthful ambition to take the 
highest seat in the synagogue, has been defeated; of the friends 
of Gen. Jackson, whose pardonable ambition to attain the same 
situation, has also been defeated; and of other ambitious politi- 
cians who, conscious of their own demerits, have, upon the cal- 
culation of chances, determined in favor of committing them- 
selves to the stormy sea of opposition, in the hope of sharing in 
the credit of aiding to bring the ship safely into port. 

Understand me not to say, that all are actuated by chagrin 
from disappointment, or selfish ambition. Far from it. Every 
party embraces honest and honorable men. Boldness in accu- 
sation, adroitness in sophistry, flattery addressed to the vain, 
and skilful appeals to the prejudiced, mislead many good men, 
and many who, if not altogether good, deserve not great severity 
of reproach. 

But not only is this opposition composed principally of disap- 
pointed partizans ; it is also a local opposition. Our brethren 
of the south have strong local and Slate attachments. That in- 
).ired love of home, which is the source of all patriotism, anri 



8 

which, properly regulated, is the noblest of human afiections, is 
their rulinsi passion. IVJuch good has it done them ; much honor 
has it gained them; and hilh- rto the nation has had little cause 
to complain, that it has operated injuriously. Their loading 
men are trained and practised politicians. They are bound to- 
gether by the strongest ties of interest and affection. No party 
bickerings have divided them, set brother against brother, and 
neutraHzed their influence. Their greatest men are sent to Con- 
gress. They love power, and God forbid that it should be said 
that, so long as they retained it, the nation did not prosper. But, 
having retained it long, they have now lost it. They ought to 
have submitted without a murmur. They ought willingly to 
have conceded to others, what others have so long con- 
ceded to them. They ought to have reflected, that there is a 
spirit in other men, an honourable spirit, and similar to that by 
"which they are actuated, which will not permit one, however 
worthy, forever to retain a privilege to which others, who are 
equally worthy, have an equal right. They ought to have re- 
membered and acted upon the republican principle of rotation. 
But it is not surprising, that the possession of power should have 
operated upon them, as it does upon all other men; that the long 
possession should make them love it the more ; that the loss of 
it should excite unpleasant sensations, and impel them to pursue 
a course which they would condemn others for pursuing. 

I do not make these remarks for the purpose of exciting hos- 
tile feelings against our southern brethren. I make them to ac- 
count for the singular opposition, which is arrayed against the 
])resent administration. And should the eff'pct be to produce in 
our bosoms a sufficient degree of the same spirit to counterbal- 
ance that, which animates them — a greater degree 1 should sin- 
cerely deprecate — the patriot will not say that I have made them 
unprofitably. Certain I am that in that case, we should obtain, 
as we should deserve, a much higher degree of their respect. 

Does any one doubt this, or require a proof of these remarks ? 
Let him recollect the caustic and contemptuous expressions ap- 
plied to the seceders on the Missouri Question. Let him remem- 
ber the sneers of Mr. Randolph, at our "puniaw" President. 
Let him read the following remarks, boldly, but one would think, 
incautiously, made, by the same prominent member of the oppo- 
sition party. '' We know what we are doing. We of the south 
are united"^ from the Ohio to Florida — and we can always unite ; 
but you of the north are beginning to divide, and you will di- 
vide. We have conquered you once, and we can, and will, con- 
quer you again. Aye, Sir, we will drive you to the wall, and 
when we have you there once more, we mean to keep you there, 
and will nail you down like base money." 



And what are the charges, which this opposition make against 
our puritan President, and what are the measures which they 
have opposed? — Aware of the honest prejudices which exist, 
they have " given him the bad name" of federalist. — Let us not, 
my fellow citizens, be deprived of our reasoning faculties by 
this appeal to our prejudices. Let us not arm ourselves with 
stones and bludgeons the instant the cry reaches our ears. Let 
us nol, like a Salem jury, return a verdict of guilty, the instant, 
and for the sole reason, that the charge is made. Let us de- 
mand proof of the fact. 

Mr. Adams, as all well know, was once considered a member 
of the federal party. While his father was President, he did 
not place himself in opposition to his administration ; but he did 
not, like Mr. Crawford, take an active part in supporting it. If 
the error of Mr. Crawford, upon whom filial respect imposed 
no restraint, can be forgiven, shall that of Mr. Adams be re- 
membered and visited upon him at this late day ? 

But in the long course of his political life, he has never advo- 
cated those principles^ which were characteristic of the federal 
party. His scrupulous reverence of the constitution is not sur- 
passed by that of any republican. It is well known that the 
journals of the Senate, of which he was long a member, have 
been searched by his enemies, and that the most heinous charge 
which has been brought against him was, that he voted against 
the law which forbade the importation of slaves after the year 
1807. The reason which he has assigned for that vote evinces 
the regard he entertains for that sacred instrument. It was that, 
cdthough the law was not to take effect until the time permitted 
by the constitution, it was yet on its passage before Congress had 
power to act on the subject. With many, this reason would be 
considered conclusive ; it must convince all that the constitution 
may be entrusted to his care without the least hazard of viola- 
lion. 

Not a single vote of his can be brought forward, not a single 
act of his can be adduced, which has contravened any of the 
principles or doctrines of the republican party; which has tend- 
ed to extend the power of rulers, or to abridge the rights of the 
people. If in name, he has once been a federalist, in principle 
and practice he has always been a republican. 

In his manners too, and they are of principles a more sure cri- 
terion than professions, he is simple, unaffected, unostentatious, 
more closely resembling Mr. Jefferson than any other of his pre- 
decessors. Mr. Randolph, in one of his speeches, took occasion 
to mention, in the same sarcastic manner that the federalists once 
used in speaking of our first republican President, that formerly 
he had often, when riding in a carriage, met him " trudging 
through the mud, with an umbrella over his head." His con= 



o 



10 

slant and unwearied industry, in the performance of his public 
duties, unequalled perhaps by that of any man in any station, 
may have given an outward coldness to his manner, less pleasing 
perhaps than the manners of those who frequent the fashionable 
circles of the metropolis, but certainly, when the cause is con- 
sidered, much more to his honor. 

Is it always forgotten that at a time when the federal party, 
encouraged by our foreign difficulties, mnde an effort, with a good 
prospect of success, to regain the ground they had lost, IVsr. Ad- 
ams cheerfully lent the aid of his powerful talents and high 
character to support a republican administration ? Is it forgot- 
ten that, for the course he took on this occasion, he incurred the 
deep displeasure ©f the federalists of Massachusetts? Is it for- 
gotten that he enjoyed, in the highest degree, the confidence of 
Presidents Madison and Monroe? and that the latter, avowing 
and acting upon the principle, that his administration ought to 
rest for support upon the republican party, selected him, with 
the approbation of the Senate, to fill the highest seat in his re- 
publican cabinet? 

But it is said that Mr. Adams is supported by the federalists. 
If such be the fact — if the federalists come upon the ground we 
occupy, is that a sufficient reason why we should leave it? Mis- 
erably weak indeed must be that republican, who can thus be 
driven from his post; who would thus sacrifice his reason, his 
principles and his patriotism to his prejudices. Would he flee 
around the horizon ? Rather let him stand, independent and 
firm, on the ground he has chosen, and maintain it as his own. 

The federalists in a body supported Mr. Monroe ; but it was 
not then thought expedient, by the politicians of the south, to 
proclaim among themselves, and to pass to their obsequious fol- 
lowers amongst us, the cry of denunciation against him. 

But how far true is this charge against Mr. Adams, (singularii^ 
charge) that the federalists support him? It is believed that 
every federalist in Congress, who lives south of the Hudson, 
(with a solitary exception, and he lives near it) is opposed to Mr. 
Adams. I do not make this assertion with perfect confidence, 
for litde is now known of the appellation which our politicians 
bear. 1 believe it to be correct. It is well known also that ma- 
ny federalists, who live north of the Hudson, are decidedly op- 
posfd to him. Of the former class are Berrien of Georgia, Row- 
an of Kentucky, Tazewell of Virginia, M'Lane, Buchanan, 
Hemphill, Mangum, M'Neil, Verplanck, Drayton, &c. &c. Of 
the latter class are, Baylies, of Massachusetts, Timothy Picker- 
ing, and the whole Essex junto. It is indisputably true, that the 
only federal vote given for President, that of Delaware, was 
given against Mr. Adams ; it is true also, that fewer federalists 
now support Mr. Adams than did before support Mr. Mouroej 



11 

and that he is cordially supported by a majority of the republi- 
can party. 

The opposition, composed thus in part of federalists, further- 
more allege that Mr. Adams has appointed federalists to office. 
When a specification is called for, the names of Mr. King, Mr. 
Sergeant, and Mr. Williams, of Vermont, are mentioned. It is 
not said that these men are not honest, not capable, not friendly 
to the constitution, nor in any way unfitted to perform the duties 
of the offices which they have been appointed to fill ; nor can it 
be denied that Mr. King possesses the confidence of republicans, 
he having been chosen Senator by a republican legislature. 
The full amount of this charge is, therefore, that of the two or 
three hundred individuals appointed to office, three are federal- 
ists ; and this is the only charge yet made against Mr. Adams 
that is supported by fact. 

No man, actuated by the true spirit of republicanism, ever 
censured Mr. Adams for these appointments, and no such man 
will permit this charge to have any unfavorable influence on his 
feelings. Among the prominent doctrines of the republican 
party are, tolerance of opposite opinions in others; liberality of 
sentiment; hostility to persecution; and the extension of equal 
privileges to all, so far as may be compatible with the security 
of freedom. It was these doctrines which made republicanism 
so lovely in the eyes of the people of this country. It was by 
professing, applauding, and inculcating them, that the republican 
party were carried forward, from triumph to triumph, till every 
State owned its sway, and the victory was rendered as decisive 
and complete as any political victory ever gained. One of the 
charges maH.e against the federal party, and powerfully efficient 
in accomplishing their overthrow, was that, disregarding the 
merits of republicans, they appointed only federalists to office. 
Intolerance thus displayed had the effect which it always has 
had, and always will have ; it made converts to the persecuted 
party, and excited popular indignation against their persecutors. 
Mr. Jeff Tson, more strongly imbued with republican sentiments 
than any man that ever lived ; who well knew by what princi- 
ples the republicans had acquired power, and by what errors 
the federalists had lost it, bade us, in his inaugural address, to 
*' reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intol- 
erance, under which mankind so long bled and sufl'ered, we have 
yet gained litde, if we countenance a political intolerance, as 
despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and as bloody per- 
secutions." 

Here it may be said, but certainly not by a republican, that 
these were words without meaning ; that, to ascertain what were 
Mr. Jeff"erson's principles, we must look to his practice and not to 
his professiens ; and that, during the period of his administra- 



12 

lion, he appointed few federalists, and removed many. It is well 
known that with this inconsistency Mr. Jefferson was charged, 
in the celebrated memorial from New-Haven. And how did he 
repel the charge? After alluding to the intolerance of the fed- 
eral party, he proceeds : " I lament sincerely that unessential 
difterences in opinion should have been deemed sufficient to in- 
terdict half of the society from the right and the blessings of 
self government ; to proscribe them as unworthy of every trusts 
It would to me have been a circumstance of great relief, had I 
found a moderate participation of office in the hands of the ma- 
jority; I would gladly have left to time and accident to raise 
them to their just share. But their total exclusion calls for 
prompter correctives. 1 shall correct the procedure ; but that 
done, return with joy to the state of things, when the only ques- 
tions concerning a candidate shall be, Is he honest? Is he ca- 
pable ? Is he faithful to the constitution ?" 

I do not quote the sentiments of this illustrious statesman for 
the purpose of criminating the republican party. 1 am proud to 
say, that that party are not obnoxious to the charge of acting con- 
trary to those sentiments. Republican presidents, and republi- 
can governors of this state, have appointed federalists to office, 
and for this they have been justified and applauded ; and they 
■were considered republicans as well afterwards as before. I 
make the quotation, to remind my brethren, who have now been 
twenty-five years a majority, of those first, fundamental princi- 
ples which the primitive republicans adopted as a part of their 
political creed. I make it for the consideration of that portion, 
who, retaining all the animosity engendered by party contentions, 
are in danger of forgetting what republicanism is, and of render- 
ing it unlovely, by representing it like the federalism of ninety* 
eight. I make it to indicate a course of conduct, which would 
establish the republican party on the firmest foundations, and 
save it from the fate, which all political parties must suff"er, which, 
in this liberal age, feeling power, practice intolerance. 

And the course 1 would indicate, is not, by any means, that 
Vie should surrender into other hands the power we have happi- 
ly gained ; not that we should incur the hazard of permitting the 
government to be administered in a manner contrary to the 
principles we profess. But it is, that, in the enjoyment of our 
imexampled success, we should be mindful of our principles, and 
of the lessons of experience ; that we should prove, by our con- 
duct, that it was not the emoluments of office, for which we con- 
tended ; that we should display endugh of magnanimity to pre- 
vent those, whom we have deprived of power, from feeling as 
though they were in their native land, " proscribed as unworthy 
of every trust ;" that, in fine, we should continue to do as we 
have- done, and confi.ding in none but tlie able and patriotic, makr 



13 

a distribution of oftlces, at least, in the proportion of three in two 
hundred. 

Upon these principles,! defend and approve the noniinatior by 
the president and the appointment by the senate, of Messrs. King, 
Sergeant and Williams. He who condemns them must show 
that these principles are unsound, or forfeit all claim to the ap- 
pellation of republican. 

Such are the charges made against the President, by the op- 
posiiion ; and such the answers which, in the spirit of republi- 
canism, truth enables me to give. Permit me now, my fellow 
citizens, to direct j^our attention more particularly to the charac- 
ter and conduct of the opposition. 

The first remark that occurs, is, that they are not contending 
for any political principle. A part are federalists ; a part are 
republicans. Some are in favor of the most liberal construction 
of the constitution ; others in favour of the most strict construc- 
tion. A portion are in favor of appropriating money for internal 
improvements ; some deny that congress possess the power so to 
do. Some are in favour of encouraging manufactures; others 
believe that everj' species of industry ought to be equally favor- 
ed. Some were the friends of Jackson, some of Calhoun, some 
of Crawford. The most turbulent and ambitious of the disap- 
pointed have congregated together. It is not identity of piinci- 
ple ; it is merely identi:y olfeelmg, that forms the bond of their 
association ; and of this feeling enough has been said to enable 
you to judge of its purity. It remains to be seen how firmly such 
a feeling will amalgamate so many elements universally hetero- 
geneous and discordant. 

The most important measure adopted at the late session of 
congress, the mission to the Congress of Panama, was opposed 
by this singular combination of men. The measure was recom- 
mended by the President, to whom the constitution has committed 
the management of our intercourse with other nations. As he is 
obviously best acquainted with our foreign relations; as he can 
have no possible motive for recommending a measure that would 
be unfavorable to our interests, this measure ought to have been 
discussed with candour, and cheerfully adopted, unless decisive 
objections could be urged against it. It was, on the contrary, 
opposed with desperate and long continued pertinacity, occupy- 
ing the time of congress to the exclusion of other business, and 
occasioning an expense greater than our whole state expenditure 
for three, or even for four years. 

And what is the nature "or character of this Panama congress ? 
On what ground has the mission been opposed ? And what are 
the benefits which may reasonably be anticipated from it ? 

Four or five years ago, Gen. Bolivar, who has acquired the 
flattering and appropriate appellation of the Washington of South 



14 

America, proposed that a meeting of commissioners, from all the 
Spanish American republics, should be held, at some centra! 
place, to deiibrrate upon subjects connected with their common 
safety and common welfare. It is known, that most of these re- 
pul)lics have entered into treaty stipulations to send commission- 
ers. From these treaties, it appears, that the purposes for which 
the congress is to be held, are " to cement, in a more solid and 
durable manner, the intimate relations which ought to exist be- 
tween these republics, to serve them as a council in great conflicts, 
as a point of union in common dangers, as a faithful interpreter 
of their public treaties, when difliculties shall arise, and as an ar- 
bitrator and conciliator in their disputes and differences." 

The assembling of a body of diplomatic agents so near us, 
representing powers with which we have such frequent inter- 
course, and such intimate political relations, must naturally 
have been considered, by the administration, as an important 
and interesting occurrence. No subject could be there discuss- 
ed; no decision whatever could there be made, which might 
not, in a greater or less degree, affect our interests. It must 
therefore, from the first, have been highly desirable to them, 
from regard to the interests of their country, to know what sub- 
jects were there to be discussed, the opinions and views entertain- 
ed* and expressed, and the conclusions agreed upon. Ought 
they, in order to acquire this information, to have placed there a 
secret unaccredited agent instructed to obtain it, in any way he 
could, from unauthentic sources ? and who, l>y communicating 
the title he might acquire, would do more injury than by com- 
municating nothing. Fortunately, they were relieved from the 
necessity of adopting this unpleasant and unsafe expedient, — 
Ou,v neighbors have spontaneously invited us to be present at 
the me.eting 5 and have even offered us a seat at their council 
board. And the manner of this invitation must be as gratifying 
to us as it is honorable to them. Regarding us as the eldest of 
the young family of republics, the minister from Colombia ob- 
serves ; " It is presumed that the government of the United 
States possess more light on the subject of international law, than 
the other states of our hemisphere ;" and " their voice will be 
heard with the respect and deference which their early labors, 
to fix some principles of that law, will merit." And the minis- 
ter from the republic of Central America assigns " the impor- 
tance and respectability which would attach to the General 
Congress of American republics from the presence of envoys 
from the United States," as a motive of the invitation which he 
was instructed to give. And he afterwards adds, that he is in- 
structed distinctly to say, that the congress " will not require 
that the representatives of the United States should, in the least, 
compromit their present neutrality, harmony, and good intelli- 
gence with other nations." 



15 

It was now placed in the power of the United States to have 
public and accredited ministers at I'anama, who could be pres- 
ent at the deliberations of the congress ; who might recommend 
the adoption of such measures as from our experience, we 
should judge most advantageous to them ; and prevent the adop- 
tion of measures which mi^ht prove injurious to us. That measures 
of this last description might be adopted, there is certainly some 
reason to apprehend. " Sometimes," observes the president, in 
his message to the Senate, " the South American nations, in their 
intercourse with the United States, have manifested dispositions 
to reserve a right of granting special favors and privi'eges to 
the Spanish nation as the price of their recognition ; at others, 
they have actually established duties and impositions operating 
unfavorably to the United States to the advantage of other Eu- 
ropean powers; and sometimes they have appeared to consider 
that they might interchange, among themselves, mutual conces- 
sions of exclusive favor, to which neither European powers nor 
the United l^tates should be admitted. In most of these cases, 
their regulations, unfavorable to us, have yielded to friendly ex- 
postulation and remonstrance ; but it is believed to be of infinite 
moment, that principles of a liberal commercial intercourse 
should be exhibited to them, and urged, with disinterested and 
friendly persuasion upon them, when all assembled for the avow- 
ed purpose of consulting together upon the establishment of 
such principles as may have an important bearing upon their fu- 
ture welfare." 

To the invifition, therefore, given in this friendly and respect- 
ful manner, the secretary of state was instructed thus to reply: 
" The president has determined, at once, to manifest the sen- 
sibility of the United States, to whatever concerns the prosperi- 
ty of the American hemisphere,and to the friendly motives which 
have actuated your government, in transmitting the invitation 
■which you have communicated. He has therefore resolved, 
should the Senate of the United States, now expected to assem- 
ble in a few days, give their advice and consent, to send com- 
missioners to the congress at Panama. Whilst they will not be au- 
thorised to enter upon any deliberations, or to concur in any acts^ in- 
ciShsistent with the present neutral position of the United States, and 
its obligations, they will be fully empowered, and instructed upon 
all questions likely to arise in the congress, on subjects in which 
the nations of America have a common interest." 

The acceptance of the invitation, ecen in this guarded manner, 
has been condemned by the opposition. They have exerted all 
their faculties ; they have resorted to every expedient, to pre- 
vent the sending of commissioners. From the 26th of Decem- 
ber to the 14th of March, the subject was detained in the Sen- 
ate, and after that time, many weeks in the House j and, ia ad- 



16 

diliou to a long report from the pen of a federalist, many and 
lonfy speeches were made against the measure. It is certainly 
proper, that all the important arguments urged by the opposition, 
should be stated and examined before a decision is passed upon 
their conduct. 

And here I would caution you to control those feelings, with 
which, as friends of American liberty and as enemies of Euro- 
pean domination, you must all be animated. You would other- 
wise be in danger of passing a harsh judgment upon the conduct 
of the opposition. It is certainly unfortunate for them that they 
are contending against a course, which those feelings would 
prompt. It is matter of history, that the republican party gave 
their uncalculating sympathy to their brethren of France, in the 
commencement of their struggle for freedom. The subsequent 
conduct of that people forfeited our sympathy, as adherents of 
republican piinciples. Perhaps we shall again be disappointed ; 
and we may again be reminded of our lolly by those who disre- 
gard, if they feel, emotions of sympathy for brethren of the 
same principle, inhabitants of the same hemisphere, struggling to 
secure their liberty and independence; who may succeed if we 
encourage, who may fail if we withhold our countenance and ad- 
vice; whose success would strengthen us and our cause, and 
place it upon a foundation never to be shaken. 

The principal argument, why we should not send commission- 
ers to this Congress, is derived from its alleged character ; it is 
declared to be a belligerent congress ; a permanent congress ; 
having legislative and judicial powers; and this argument is cal- 
culated to have much more weight than it ought, from a miscon- 
ception which naturally prevails in this country, of the meaning 
of the word. ♦ Here it is applied to a body, whose members vote, 
a majority of which con^-ols the minority, and which possesses 
and exercises the power to pass laws. Before, it was never so 
applied. Its primitive and general meaning, and the meaning 
which, so far as we are coi^cerned, it has, in this case, is a col- 
lection of ministers mot together to discuss ; to ascertain the opin- 
ions, wishes, and views of the nations represented. As an as- 
sembly, it possesses no authority. If all the ministers but one 
- concur in a measure, and that one dissents, the nation he repre- 
sents remains as free as before. They can agree to no acts but 
in the shape of treaties between nations, not wiih the congress 
as a party ; and thes-:- treaties are not binding unless authorised 
by instructions, and afterward ratified by the ratifying power.— 
That treaties are often made at a congress, is certainly true ; it is 
an exceedingly convenient mode of doing at once, and cheaply, 
what might otherwise require a long time and much expense to 
accomplish. 



17 

it is said that this is a belligerent congress ; and to prove it, refer- 
ence is made to the treaties, which provide tliat it shall be held. — 
But to these treaties we are not a party, and we are,in no sense,bound 
by them. It is Jndifierent to us what they contain, or what may be 
the character of the congress. That character, whatever it may be, 
will not be communicated to our ministers. They, untrammelled by 
treaties, are sent for specific purposes. These purposes are anti- 
belligerent : to put an end to the horrors of war, or if that be not 
possible, to moderate its rigors and circumscribe its limits. 

Neither is it material to us, in deciding the question of appointing 
^commissioners, whether the congress is intended to be perpetual or 
not. The friends of liberty hope it will be perpetual in its duration, 
and in its beneficent effects. If it answers the designs of its great 
and patriotic proposer, it will bring to a speedy close the contest with 
the mother country ; it will prevent those future wars among them- 
selves which have often been predicted, and which might otherwise, 
after the pressure from abroad has been removed, arise among nations 
so unenlightened. But our ministers are not bound to remain there 
longer than is thought proper ; and it has been expressly stated, by 
the Secretary of State, that it is not expected they will remain there 
longer than six months 

Let it be granted, (which however is denied,) that the congress 
possesses legislative and judicial powers. It is a sufficient answer, 
that the}' can have no operation on us. And indeed it is hardly possi- 
ble to suppose, that these reasons could have been thought, by those 
wbo advanced them, to be entitled to consideration. They have been 
put forth as an experiment upon the credulity and simplicity of the 
people. In imagining and enforcing them, some little ingenuity has 
been displayed ; but not enough to conceal the determination to op- 
pose every measure, which the president might recommend, howev- 
er wise in its conception or salutary in its tendencies. 

Again, it is said that, if we send ministers to this meeting, rve may 
offend old Spain, and the hohj alliance ! Such dishonorable fears did 
not prevent us IVom acknowledging the independence of these re- 
publics, nor from sending ministers to them. To send ministers 
to this meeting is no more a cause of war, nor of offence to Spain, 
than it would be, in ordinary cases, to one belligerent to send min- 
isters to another. We kept ministers at France and at Great Britain, 
when these nations were at war, and neither was so ignorant of na- 
tional law and immemorial usage, as to consider it cause of offence. 
It is difficult to imagine what pretence any other nation than Spaia 
can have to be offended. Let us, to use the noble language of the 
President, hereafter as heretofore, take counsel from our rights and 
duties, rather than our fears. 

The advice of Washington has also, with a disingenuousness upon 
which he would frown, been pressed into the service of the opposi- 
tion. In his invaluable Legacy, the text book of all American poli- 
ticians, be advises us, " in extending our commercial relations, to 
have with foreign nations as little political connexion as possible." 
It is evident, that the nations he then had in view were existing 
nations, European nations j for he immediately adds, a» tus reasons 



I * 

LO 



for the advice, " Europe has a set of primary interests," (legitimacy, 
family alliances, monarchy, &,c.) " which to us have none or a ver3»- 
remote relntion. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controver- 
sies, the ciuises of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. 
Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by 
artificial ties, io the ordinary vicissitudes of Aer politics, or the or- 
dinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. 
Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a 
ditferent course." Advice applicable, and confined, to one state of 
things, cannot surely be applicable to aaother and totally different 
state. Since the death of the great Father of his country, man3' re- 
publican nations have sprung into existence. They are situated on 
our very borders. They have no set of primary inieresis essentially 
distinct from ours ; but they have many wbich to us have an intimate 
and close relatio7i. In this reversed state of things, it is not unfair to 
infer, that a contrary advice would be given. Dut no such inference 
is made, for none such is necessary. To send ministers to Panama 
no more implies that we must form with the nations there repre- 
sented any political connexion, than sending Mr. E-^^erelt to Spain 
implies that we must form a political connexion with her. Whether 
we shall, or shall not, form with them, or with Spain, any political 
connexion, depends upon the opinion, which may hereafter be enter- 
tained by the President and two thirds of the Senate. 

The opposition compare the confederation entered into by the 
South American republics to the holy alliance of Europe. This dis- 
ingenuousness must remove all doubt, if any could exist, of the sen- 
timents tbey entertain, and wish to produce in others, towards our 
republican neighbours. It affords also another proof of their reliance 
«pon the influence of namei, whether properly or improperly be- 
stowed. Can they suppose us so ignorant as to believe, that all alli- 
ances, all leagues, all confederations, are unholy ? that it importa 
nothing whether the intent, with which they are formed, be right- 
eous or wicked ? If bad men unite to prostrate free institutions, may 
not good men unite to uphold and preserve them ? 

Thank God, the government have taken their stand on the conse- 
crated ground of freedom. Grateful, indeed, am I that, in defending 
them, I need only give free utterance to feelings which animate a 
heart devoted to liberty ; that I am not compelled to resort to the 
insidious sophistry of Burke, nor to the malignant vituperations of 
Johnson ; that 1 have only to follow the suggestions of a magnanimous 
policy, and to appeal to the best and the noblest feelings of human 
nature. From this ground, I trust, the opposition will not drive 
them. Let this combination of men b«t continue to occupy the posi- 
tion, and contend with the arms they have chosen, and they must la- 
bour to obtain their object, without any aid from the sympathy of 
the people, or from the prayers of the votaries of liberty. 

And what are the benefits that may reasonably be anticipated from 
•ending ministers to the meeting at Panama ? 

We should prove to our sister republics, by accepting their invita- 
tion, given with such delicate regard to our feelings and declared 
policy, that we take a lively interest in their success and future 



19 ^ 

'prosperity. We should bind them to us by the ties of confidence and 
gratitude, which young nations in disiress, if we may judge from our 
own history, are peculiarly disposed to feel, ioasmuch as they have 
poijcited our advice, we may caution them against the errors to 
Avhich republics, ia their siiuation, are exposed. We may point out 
such moditicatious in their institutions, as may conduce to their per- 
petuity, and may tend to the melioration of (he condition of man. 
We may recommend the declaration ol these principles of national 
law in relation to the freedom of trade, and the safety of men on the 
ocean, for which we have always contended, and from the violation 
cf which we haye suffered so much. We may prevent, by reasoning 
and expostulation, the adoption of measures which might be injurious 
to oar interests. We may avert the horrible dangers which threaten 
a portion of the union — a portion which we are all bound and dis- 
posed to protect — from their invasion of 4juba and Puerto Rico, 
upon which they have once resolved, but which the President per- 
suaded them to defer. We may, in fine, prevent their bestowing^ 
upon other nations, as the price of proffered favois, superior com- 
mercial privileges, which will exchule our ships from their ports, 
and our manufactures from their places of trade. And all this we 
may do without comprorailting our neutrality, or endangering our 
peace. 

And what might ensue, should we decline their friendly and re- 
spectful invitation ? Would they not have reason to think, and to 
say ? This elder pister of curs, havicg established hsr liberty and in- 
dependence, forgetting the counsel •f the great Foundtif of her in- 
stitutions, who advised her " to give to mankind the magnanimous 
and too novel example of a people, always guided by im exalted jus- 
tice and benevolence," now stands aloof, and dreading our prosper- 
ity, or cowering under the trowns of despots, fears to be seen in the 
company of her relations, and declines taking the hand we have prof- 
fered in friendship. She herself, although professing republicanisnj, 
furnishes another proof of the .shorl-sigiited selfishness of nations. 
She cares not lor our interests ; we will care not for hers. Why 
should we not purchase the acknovvledgment of our independence by 
conceding to Spain commercial privileges which we should deny to 
her ? Why should wc not grant to Great Britain also, whose subjects, 
by their permitted loans, enabled us to carry on the war, and whose 
minister, at our doors, claims a reward at our hands, such facilities as 
will enable her manufacturers to grow rich, by supplying us with 
their elegant fabrics? Why, if Spain is obstinate, should we longer 
delay to invade and conquer her rich islands of Cuba and Puerto 
Rico ? arvd if sparks from the conilagralion, which that must occa- 
sion, should light up a fiame in the adjacent Stales of the American 
Union, let her extinguish it as she maj'. Why should we ii»t ac- 
knowledge the independence of Hayti, and obtain in exchange, as 
France has, such facilities in her ports as will enable us to drive al! 
competitors from her markets ? When we have grown stronger, we 
will break the ^chains, by which we now bind ourselves, as our elder 
sister did, and should she then extend her hands in friendship, we 



20 

will avert our eyes in pride and scorn. We should then hold Cuh.i, 
the key of the Mississippi, and could impose our own terms. 

All this they^ may not only think, and say, but do. And if they 
are too magnanimous to do it from feelings of resentment, they may 
do it from imagined necessity, from mistaken notions of policy, as 
no friendly voice would be heard imparting encouragement, pointhig 
out their own true interests, and exposing the insidious arts of prac- 
ticed diplomacy. 

And then what ground would the opposition assume ? And not 
only they, but the whole country ? A unanimous burst of indigna- 
tion would be heard from our merchants, from our manufacturers, 
from our spirited and intelligent yeomanry, from all who would be 
capable of perceiving how opportunities had been lost, and interests 
sacrificed. The President and his cabinet would be expelled, and 
deservedly, from their seats, and from the hearts of the people. 



Shall we, my fellow citizens, support the President of our choice 
—the present republican administration ? or shall we enlist under the 
banners of an opposition, such as I have exhibited to you ? I doubt 
not your intelligence ; I doubt not your patriotism ; I doubt not that 
nearly all of you are resolved to support the administration. But 
still I have fears, I fear that the lullaby of " no opposition," suno- 
by those who choose not now to excite our suspicions, may close our 
eyes in slumber. I fear that we may again be deceived in bestowino- 
our confidence. Let ns, therefore, took not to professions, but to char- 
acter. Let us not be satisfied with the general profession of repub- 
licanism ; that is a cloak ivhich may easily be assumed by the ambi- 
tious and unprincipled. Let us remember, that when zee have parted 
with power, it will not return to ns, until an act may have been done, 
which will fill us with shame and indignation. Let us suspect the de- 
signs of those who, while the opposition, in other parts of the union, 
are vigilant and active beyond all former example, recommend to us 
moderation and neutrality. Let us confide in no one whose course 
has not been plain and direct, and decided ,• whose past conduct and 
well known feelings are not a sure guarantee that he will preserve 
the course we approve. Let us confide in no one who votes at the 
command of another ; nor in any one whose friendship or enmities 
may lead him astray from the path of duty t ) his constituents. Let us 
confide in none but 



" Men, high minded men, 
" Who knoLo theit rights, and, knowing, dare maintain them," 



89 W 






» 



''ok ^i 






.0-' V'^^T'* 












*:a^ 






A* "v* «* -0. * A €b.^ i. • 'O -«^ 









» • 







»> vV 



» , 1 • ' A <^ "* * o » ' -(J,^ 



■►NT _ * 












K'A' 



'^: 



' d^ 




^\ "--/ '-A': "w" •^"- \./ --r^' 



0^ ^' 



9^ 















0^ 

V I. o* « 

p> ^ ^^ f?. 35 • 







aswMiiiiiiiiiiifiOiitr J," 



jltitiiiimi 



'<n.'i;iii:iiiiiwii)iwiiaiii>' 



KlHEIililliiifliailia 



piJSHTiMTRniinjiinT 









lliii 



:>i)iitui::]Mtuu»titmtititiHt<M}tiiiuti}imuuiti 



>tiitlyti}i>i}(; 



)i;ffllil!!l!i'.(i(l(|;ll« 






